The Hidden Politics that shaped Cessnock LGA
- Quintin King
- Jan 29
- 10 min read
Whenever concerns about the four-lane Wollombi Road project arise and residents express their frustration over feeling that the community’s views have been disregarded, the response from the establishment in Cessnock typically refers to the project as the outcome of an independent-led council decision from 2009, following the rezoning of the Bellbird North Urban Release Area.
Rezoning is a highly detailed and complex process, involving extensive preparation before it is presented to the council for consideration. In an effort to understand how this situation developed, I conducted some research, driven by one central question: How did we get here?
If you are willing to read on, I will attempt to guide you through a timeline of events that ultimately led us to this point. It’s important to note that the opinion I am about to share is supported by government documents, published news articles, and credible relevant websites. Everything is publicly available nothing I’m sharing here have not been made public already. And for the record I’m absolutely not against development, it’s good for jobs and good for the economy but it has to take into consideration our community needs.
Background of Mount View Grange (North Bellbird)
Mount View Grange (North Bellbird) was acquired by the Johnson Property Group in 2004, as indicated on their official website.
In documents within the Cessnock Development Control Plan, specifically the E.11 North Bellbird Precinct, there are references to communications between Cessnock Council and various NSW government departments, dating back to September and October of 2006, regarding concerns about flooding and zoning clarifications.
It refers to documentation about those correspondence which includes:
10 Nov 2006 – Letter from the NSW Department of Natural Resources stating no objection to proposed amendments concerning flooding and rezoning reclassification, as previously questioned by the council.
11 May 2007 – North Bellbird Floodplain Management Plan and DCP.
13 August 2007 – Floodplain Risk Management and Storm water Management Strategy prepared by Patterson Britton & Partners.
13 August 2007 – Draft Rezoning Plan for North Bellbird, prepared by Patterson Britton & Partners.
As you can see, substantial work had already been done by the developer and relevant planning authorities by this point. And to fully understand that period in the Cessnock LGA we need to understand the bigger picture of economic and political circumstances.
Political Context: The Events of the 2000s
To provide some context, it is important to consider the political environment during this time. NSW state government was Labor dominated from 1995 until 2011. In 1999, John Clarence (Labor) was first elected Mayor of Cessnock and for nearly a decade, Cessnock’s local government was dominated by the Labor Party until September 2008.
During 2006 and 2007, a number of incidents and allegations involving elected officials and executive staff prompted a Section 430 investigation into Cessnock City Council. The investigation, which began in April 2008, found troubling evidence of improper conduct by the former Labor–led council.
According to the report, published in January 2009, there was evidence suggesting some councillors participated in binding caucus votes on development applications. It also indicated a concerning culture within the council regarding the acceptance of gifts and benefits like attending Christmas parties and dinners with developers and even flights and accommodation to China, as well as the involvement of former Mayor John Clarence, former General Manager Col Cowan, and a director of High Trade Constructions, Mr. Li Zhang, in private works that lacked standard contract management procedures that resulted in a significant financial loss to council.
Given the questionable culture during the 2006-2007 period, I investigated further into political donations made during that time. I found it intriguing that, according to records from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Johnson Property Group (North Bellbird developer) made substantial donations to the NSW Labor Party:
2006-2007: $109,050.00
2007-2008: $114,400.00
The Development Timeline and Transition in Leadership
On 13 September 2008, the Cessnock Council election resulted in a loss for Labor. Following the election, the Plan for the North Bellbird Precinct continued to progress. Notable events included:
30 September 2008 – Council requested a storm water and floodplain management report. A report was issued by Worley Parsons Resources and Energy on 29 October 2008.
The following is a time line when business relating to North Bellbird was before council from the Register of Councillor Voting re Planning Matters - For/Against - October 2008 - September 2012 on council’s website:
10 December 2008 – Draft LEP for North Bellbird Precinct.(pass)
4 March 2009 – Draft LEP for North Bellbird Precinct.(pass)
18 March 2009 – Rescission motion North Bellbird Precinct.(failed)
17 June 2009 – Bellbird North rezoning.(passed)
5 August 2009 – Bellbird North rezoning.(passed)
This voting record is interesting because I found there was a resolution of the Legislative Council under Standing Order 52 made on 19 May 2010 concerning Cessnock Council. For the production of all documents held by the minister of planning relating to Cessnock council where I found an entry that said:
“Document: 42, item: b, meeting appointment re: North Bellbird rezoning proposal, date of creation: 01.07.09, author: K. Keneally”
Meaning it was before council 17.06.2009 then there was a meeting with minister Keneally 01.07.2007 and then there was another meeting 05.08.2009 before council all about North Bellbird rezoning.
I have no way of knowing what changed from the first meeting when only 2 councillors voted against the motion to the next meeting when it was brought back to council and 5 councillors voted against it. (Council minutes are kept for 5 years only.) It makes you wonder what needed to be changed or added after the meeting with the minister, that made the mayor vote against it?
Voting records show that vote on 05.08.2009 North Bellbird rezoning was:
For: Labor 4, Liberal 2, Independent 2
Against: Independent (including the Mayor) 3, Greens 2
Johnson Property Group was also involved in other developments in Kitchener and a developer called Hardie Holdings was involved with developments in Millfield, Paxton and the driving force of the $3.5bill project Hunter economic zone (HEZ) near Kurri Kurri that ultimately failed resulting in a nearly $500k loss to council as reported by ABC 14 March 2012. Additionally, the then Labor Planning Minister, Tony Kelly, removed planning powers from Cessnock City Council due to concerns about delays in development applications. This led to the establishment of the Cessnock Planning Panel by the state government in August 2010 to deal with developments over $1mil, which
remained in place until January 2012 when the Liberal / National Party (LNP) abolished it after they won the state election in 2011.
Hunter economic zone (HEZ) and political influence
HEZ began in the 1990’s when Cessnock City Council and the NSW Department of state and regional development identified the site as having state economic development significance. The site was rezoned in 1999 and gazetted in 2002. Infrastructure and development works were launched by premier Bob Carr in 2003, and the development master plan was completed. Electricity and gas upgrades and HEZ estate infrastructure was planned to be completed 2005.
The Huntlee Development and Political Influence
I discuss Huntlee and HEZ as well because it was clear from my research there was a lot of influence from developers in the lower hunter in politics at the time, also in the resolution of the Legislative Council under Standing Order 52 made on 19 May 2010 concerning Cessnock Council. For the production of all documents held by the minister of planning relating to Cessnock council where I found entries of multiple meetings and correspondence between K. Keneally (and Frank Sartor before her) and Hardie Holdings. Kristina Keneally, who served as NSW Premier from December 2009 to March 2011, was also the Minister for Planning from September 2008 until she became Premier. Which brings me to the Huntlee development. At the time, the proponent was Hardie Holdings, a significant donor to the NSW Labor party, $174, 600 in donations to Labor from firms linked with Hardie between 2003 – 07 according to Sydney Morning Herald.
The following is what I was able to confirm directly came from Hardie Holdings according to official AEC records:
2003 – 04 ($32, 500.00)
2005 – 06 ($17, 400.00)
2006 – 07 ($30, 750.00)
2007 – 08 ($3, 000.00)
The Huntlee development, became a key example of political influence in planning decisions. With the Huntlee site ranked last by the NSW Government department, it was approved only after Mr Hardie hired the former federal Labor minister and lobbyist Graham Richardson to lead an intensive campaign to persuade the government to boost Hunter Valley population forecasts according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald April 12-13 2008. The project was approved on previously undeveloped rural land that ranked last out of 91 in the state’s development strategy for the lower hunter region. LWP property group took over the development from Hardie Holdings in 2007.
In October 2009, the land and environment court quashed the approvals, with the then planning minister Keneally, admitting she acted unlawfully in regards to a land swap deal with the developer (Hardie). The project was defeated twice in the land and environment court with zoning, but the developer ultimately prevailed in the Supreme Court, leading to the rezoning of Huntlee. Huntlee was rezoned as a state significant site by way of an amendment to schedule 3 of the Major Development SEPP on 31st December 2010, just before Labor lost the next NSW state election in 2011. As you can tell there was substantial interference from a state level bending over backwards for developers in our LGA.
Airport debacle
This is a section of an article on Dentons.com:
‘’In 1998, Council sought expressions of interest for the development and management of a proposed airport in Cessnock (Cessnock Airport). The airport precinct was meant to invigorate the area.
In 2004, Cutty Sark submitted a tender to Council to use one of the potential lots of the subdivision to build an “iconic” award winning hangar, which would house exotic aircrafts forming part of an aviation museum and used as part of a ‘joyride’ business. In 2007, Council and Cutty Sark entered into an agreement for lease with Council (AFL). The AFL would have provided Cutty Sark with a 30 year lease subject to Council using its reasonable endeavours to ensure the plan of subdivision was
registered by the specified sunset date. At the same time, Cutty Sark was granted an interim licence so that it could commence construction of the hangar.
Council failed to register the plan of subdivision by the sunset date as it was not able to obtain its internal approval for AU$1.3 million of funds which was to be used to build the sewerage system connecting to Cessnock Airport. Despite this, Council failed to terminate the AFL and did nothing to prevent Cutty Sark from continuing to expend millions on the hangar and other significant sums of money relating to the purchase of the exotic aircrafts by its related companies.’’
I mention the airport deal because this happened in the period that lead to the section 430 investigation and ultimately resulted in a $7.4 mil loss to council, thanks to another Labor deal struck in its golden era.
Bellbird Developments and the Road to the Present
As we return to Bellbird, Labor was back in power from 2012 to 2024. I was unable to find any official references to the four-lanes on Wollombi Road project prior to the 2018 Traffic and Transport Strategy. However, what is evident is the ongoing back and fourth between Cessnock Council and
Johnson Property Group over the years, culminating in legal action in 2021. Shortly thereafter, Johnson Property Group sold the development to WST Property Group.
From the Cessnock council’s website on the Register of Councillor Voting re Planning Matters - For/Against - September 2012 onwards:
18 February 2015 – Johnson Property Group Planning Proposal, Ruby Street, Bellbird.
18 November 2015 – Johnson Property Group, Ruby Street, Bellbird.
12 December 2018 – Johnson Property Group, Ruby Street, Bellbird.
3 April 2019 – Johnson Property Group, Ruby Street, Bellbird.
In March 2021, the Land and Environment Court handed down final judgments in the three Bellbird appeals.
Conclusion
The Bellbird developments, which began in 2004, have expanded far beyond initial expectations. This timeline and secret politics with developers and lobbyists since the 90’s underscores that it wouldn’t have mattered who was in power 2009 when the rezoning for Bellbird came before council, there was
much bigger players involved and no one would have been able to change course on a council level at that point in time. Who knows how many and what kind of deals was made behind closed doors, as you can tell by the various examples shared.
It is important to realise all the different things that was happening at the time for some context, there was the section 430 investigation into council during that period and a lot of pressure from the state government to get more development approvals through council. So much so they ended up stripping Council of their planning powers!
The problem more recently was that the broader community was not aware of the plan for four lanes on Wollombi Road until 2023. By the time when we as the Cessnock Orange Independents stepped up to the call from the community in 2024 to try and stop it, it was already late in the game. We
never, not once promised that we would stop it from happening but we fought nevertheless right to the end to try and come up with a different solution. Anyone that followed us during the election campaign in 2024 would’ve noticed that it wasn’t part of our election campaign because we didn’t want to make a promise that we weren’t sure we’d have an opportunity to try and keep.
Our Independent Mayor showed true leadership putting forward a mayoral minute 20 November 2024 in a last effort to fight for our community members and businesses who will be severely impacted by the Wollombi road project. He asked the council members to support a motion to seek a funding variation from the state government to extend our project time not to lose the grant funding for the project and in that extra time ensure all feasible options are explored to make sure we have the best possible outcome for our community.
The vote was:
For: Cessnock Orange Independents 5
Against: Labor 6, Purple Independent 1
When that was defeated we had to vote for the tender to award the contract for the works on Wollombi Road.
The vote was:
Against: Cessnock Orange Independents 5
For: Labor 6, Purple Independent 1
One thing is for sure though, the interests of the community were often secondary to political agendas and for over two decades, the Labor Party’s actions suggest that their priorities lay elsewhere—beyond the needs and concerns of the people.
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